Two Windsor firms land brain research grants

Improving your educational prospects through video gaming – it must be every kid’s dream.

That will become a reality in a year’s time thanks in part to a $331,000 grant in support of Think2Learn from the Ontario Brain Institute and the Federal Economic Development Agency.

Think2Learn was one of two Windsor businesses – each partnered with researchers at the University of Windsor – to be awarded a total of $931,000 in grants Thursday.

Tessonics Inc. landed financial aid worth $600,000 to help develop a mobile ultrasonic transcranial imaging device that will be portable enough to allow paramedics to monitor brain injuries at the scene.

“We wanted to find projects where there was an idea that could be turned into a product relatively quickly,” said David Bogart, the OBI’s director of research programs and industry relations.

“We wanted to see some jobs emerging down the line and some products that would make some difference in people’s lives. These two both had that potential for commercial reality and jobs.”

The grants are two of 14 projects the OBI has chosen to support using the nearly $11-million fund the federal government created to aid research and development that could lead to economic gains in Southwestern Ontario.

“If we can produce goods that not only employ people but provide strong social good, that’s the best win-win you can get,” said MP Jeff Watson (C. – Essex).

Rob Whent, president and CEO of Think2Learn and its sibling company Online Testing and Evaluation Platform, hopes to have his product in local schools within a year.

Through monitoring a child’s cognitive ability while playing specialized video games, researchers at the university can help pinpoint issues with the way that child learns. It also helps guide them in directing the child to play games or do other activities that shore up those identified learning disabilities.

Whent said his product concept already involves a team of 15 university researchers headed by Dr. Dragana Martinovic, 20 OTEP employees and another 12 partners in the gaming and computer industries.

“The idea for this came from watching my son (Mitchell), who was diagnosed as being borderline ADHD,” Whent said.

“He could handle all the challenges, do the quick calculations, required by video games but struggled in math. I wondered, ‘What if he somehow could benefit educationally by playing video games.’”

Tessonics CEO Joe Udzbinac, whose company is already involved in industrial ultrasonics, is optimistic the UTI could be ready for market in two to three years.

The device would provide the twin benefits of portability and huge cost savings to the health care system.

“We believe it’ll be cheap enough that it could be used by all first responders, emergency rooms and, I believe down the road, be similar to having a defibrillator in an exercise club,” said Udzbinac, whose company is also chipping in $600,000 to aid the research being done by the university team headed by Dr. Elena Maeva.

Udzbinac said he’s excited about the economic possibilities.

“From an economic perspective for this district, it has very huge potential,” Udzbinac said.

Essex MP Jeff Watson makes a major funding announcement on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, by FedDev Ontario on brain research led by the University of Windsor and Ontario Brain Institute. The U of W will work with local industry partners OTEP Inc. and Tessonics in Windsor, Ontario.(JASON KRYK/ The Windsor Star)

University of Windsor president Allan Wildeman speaks on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, after a FedDev Ontario funding announcement for brain research led by the U of W and Ontario Brain Institute. The U of W will work with local industry partners Think2Learn/OTEP Inc. and Tessonics in Windsor, Ontario.(JASON KRYK/ The Windsor Star)

Lively discourse is the lifeblood of any healthy democracy and The Star encourages readers to engage in robust debates about our stories. But, please, avoid personal attacks and keep your comments respectful and relevant. If you encounter abusive comments, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. The Star is Using Facebook Comments. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Smaller is better this year as Canada’s biggest stock sectors such as energy, financials and industrials continued to underperform the broader index in the first quarter. Health-care stocks, which make up just 5.3% of the S&P/TSX composite index, are the biggest winners, up 28% this year. Concordia Healthcare Corp leads the pack with an 82.1% […]